The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has expressed its reservations on convening the first session of parliament on 25 January on the ground that one party BAKSAL system was introduced in the country on this day in 1975.

The party, however, is not going to demand shifting of the inaugural session to another date.

BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain said they would attend the first session of parliament but did not specify whether they would abstain on the first day on the above-mentioned ground.

"We are yet to decide whether we would join in or not in the opening session of parliament," Khandaker Delwar told the journalists after joint meeting of the BNP Executive Committee and its front organizations at its central office at Naya Paltan in the city yesterday.

Delwar said Awami League has chosen January 25 for the opening session of parliament as this day they had introduced one party rule by forming Bangladesh Krishok Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL) in 1975," Khandker Delwar Hossain, secretary general of the party told the journalists

Delwar said the BKSAL was established in the country by killing multi-party democracy on January 25, 1975. This day has been imprinted into the memory of the people as a 'black day'.

The meeting that continued from 11:00am to 12:30pm has chalked out a weeklong programme to observe the 73rd birth anniversary of the party founder Shaheed president Ziaur Rahman.

The secretary general of BNP said it was not clear why that day has been set for the first session of the parliament.

BNP, which ruled the nation several terms in the past, has bagged only 30 seats in the just concluded parliamentary elections.

Khandker Delwar did not elaborate about any other agenda of the meeting. He said that they had discussed the single agenda of observing the birth anniversary of Ziaur Rahman, whom they hail as the pioneer of multiparty democracy at the end of the one-party BAKSAL rule.

"BNP had decided to observe the birth anniversary of Shaheed president Ziaur Rahman this year in an elaborated and befitting manner in the capital and elsewhere in the country as there is a democratic government in power at present," he added.

"Detailed program schedule will be informed later," he added.

The birth anniversary of Zia would be observed on January 19 and the weeklong program would get off on January 18.

Asked on the future course of BNP's politics, Khandker Delwar said BNP is always opposes negative politics and want to play the due role in the parliament.

"BNP always opposes negative politics. We do not follow Awami League's parliament boycott culture. We want to play the real opposition in the parliament," he asserted.

He called upon the Awami League led grand alliance to take initiatives to bring an environment conducive for running the parliament smoothly.

He reiterated that the recently held parliament elections were extensively fraud and deception-ridden.

"Persecution and murder resorted by Awami League is going on unabated," he mentioned and urged the government to halt such attacks on BNP followers and supporters.

"Awami League should not consider the country belongs to them only," he reminded.

He called upon the ruling alliance to change their mindset and be able to understand that the people of the country today want peace and development and an end to negative politics.

Asked if the AL had tried to rig the Noakhali-1 seat, which the BNP candidate won on Monday, Delwar said negative.

He claimed the results of the (elections to 299 constituencies on December 29) too would have gone in our favour of BNP if things had been manoeuvred in the similar manner.

ASM Hannan Shah, adviser to the party chairperson, Mirza Abbas, joint secretary general, Sarwari Rahman, Aman Ullah Aman and Selima Rahman, among others, attended the meeting.